Luftwaffe Fighter Aces: The Jagdflieger and Their Combat Tactics and Techniques

by Mike Spick

Book Overview

In this exciting book Mike Spick shows how the Luftwaffe's leading fighter pilots were able to outscore their allied counterparts so effectively and completely during WWII. When the records of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0804116962
• ISBN13: 9780804116961
• Release Date: July 1997
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

How did the German fighter aces do so well?

How can one claim 352 victories? How can 106 pilots each claim a 100 or MORE victories? What were the Luftwaffe fighter aces doing? There's the book to tell you!Mr. Spick first starts off with a chapter explaining basic combat tactics and then dives into the history, starting with the Spanish Civil War and ending with retreat from the East and the Jet Aces. Lots of first person accounts, detailed information on both German and Allied aircraft, and postwar examination of military records. Mr. Spick also deals with issues of training, climate and even morale!A must for anybody interested in World War II, the Luftwaffe or just the development of 20th century air combat in general.

A view from the other side

Sometime studying the opponent is much more instructive than glorifying the victor. As long as this book is concerned, the riveting description of German training, tactics and traditions is really exhaustive.It is surprising to see how long the duty tour was for a German pilot and how dedicated they were to their job, under the word of honor and chilvary that permeated the Luftwaffe tradition. Notwithstanding this credit and a self taught decency, despite the terrible strain of combat, the portrait of their character and lifestyle is really vivid. But even if this psychological trait is instrumental to understand the German aces achievement in battle, the most interesting feature of the volume is the comprehensive examination of pilot training practices, mental preparation and flying skills. A large discussion of combat tactics and fighting methods is presented for each ace, well depicted in the contest of climate, theater of war and available equipment. Beautifully researched, the book is quite easy to read and each chapter is a clearcut account of all threads leading to a conclusive analysis of how German aces outscored the Allied by a wide margin.

Top shelf material that offers facts, not fiction

Mike Spick's book on the Luftwaffe fighter aces is one of the rare examples of a technical manual being incorporated into a historiographical text. The research is flawless, and most of the aces I know accept the work as being one of the best in print. I would easily recommend this book to anyone wishing to broaden their understanding as to how the vaunted German fighter aces fought and survived. DEFINITELY A GOOD BUY.

History of the Luftwaffe's top 'Experten' and their tactics

I'm the guy that recommended this book to Bowhunter0. If you're 'into' PC flight simulators, aviation, history, or combat stories, you'll enjoy this book. Mike Spick uses diagrams and photographs to illustrate his points, and in the world of air combat a diagram of two airplanes with dashed lines showing their flight paths can go a long way to explaining energy states, relative attitudes, and shot opportunities. He also covers the basic maneuvers, terminology, and the history of the combat aircraft utilized by the aces. One particular section even has a brief talk-through of the steps a Luftwaffe pilot took to launch a 109, fly it, and land it in one piece. Mr. Spick has written another book about Allied aces and their tactics, which I would consider to be a companion piece to this book. He's also written several other books about military aviation which I've found to be very entertaining and plain ol' good reading. If you're serious about your PC flight simulators then you'll get a lot of benefit from Mike Spick's two books. If you don't read his books, well, I guess you'll just spend a lot of your time back at the hangar trying to figure out how that 109 pilot managed to shoot you down yet again.

Excellent, highly recommended.

While there are many books on Luftwaffe fighter aces, this one is different because it compares and contrasts the specific combat tactics favored by many of the legendary (and not-so famous) German aces. Each chapter analyzes a different theater of operation and provides brief bios of the successful aces of that theatre. Like Mike Spick's "The Ace Factor" this book is a fresh view on a well-covered subject. An excellent and easy read with helpful diagrams and insightful statictical appendices (as opposed to the same old "top scorer" lists). I would love to see similar books from Spick on the RAF and USAAF aces